Corset-stay



UNITED STATES Patented september 20, 1904.

FRIEND A. RUss, 0E CREENWICH, CONNECTICUT.

CORSET-STAY.

T0 all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, FRIEND A. RUss, acitizen of the United States, residing at Greenwich, Fairfield county, and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Corset-Stays, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description. My invention relates to improvements in corsets, and particularly to the construction of the stays.

The object of the invention is to provide a pair of stays for the front of a corset which may be economically made and which will combine the advantages of durability with liexibility at the top, elasticityat the waist,`

firmness and rigidity at the bottom, and smoothness throughout.

The invention consists in the constructionv and use of a pair of stays preferably as shown in the accompanying drawings. 'They areparticularly designed for use in what is known as a straight-front corset. 'Ihese corsets are low in front, so that the front stays are rather short. When the corset is in use, the upper ends or tops of the stays come just below the breast, the center is at the waist, and the lower ends rest against the abdomen.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a front elevation of apair of stays embodying the improvements of my invention. Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the same. Fig. 3 is a cross-section taken on the plane of the line X X of Fig. 1.

It will be understood that these stays are inclosed in pockets on the edges of the corset, as is common. The right-hand member of the pair consists of two parts-the long front member 1 and the shorter rear member 2, extending to the bottom.. In the drawings the thickness of the steels is exaggerated above that which would ordinarily be employed. I havefound that a suitable proportion for the thickness of steels is gage thirty-one, or thirteen one-thousandths of an inch, for one, and gage twenty-four, or twenty-three one-thousandths of an inch, for the other. These two stays 1 and 2 are fastened together by a rivet a. The point of connection is preferably about midway between the two upper clasps and at a point very near the end of the rear stay 2. The result is that thefrontof the stays is great strength and rigidity. moreover, being attached at one point only and move one upon the other without that ldanger of the breaking. or buckling which i fastened together permanently only at the top.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,538, dated September 20, 1904. Application ned Aprn 14. 1904.

serai No. 203,071. (No modem left smooth, so that the pocket or binding which is employed is not worn or soiled, as would otherwise be the case. The long flexible top above the junction with the short stay affords great flexibility at this point, whereas the duplex portion below the rivets affords The rear stay,-

to the front stay, leaves the two free to bend would occur if the stays were vfastened together atmore than one point. The lower ends of the stays are corrugated, as shown, to afford additional strength and stiffness at those portions. Besides these advantages the corrugations greatly assist in preventing sidewise play of the stays one upon another, which might otherwise occur, since the stays are The right-'hand stays are provided with studs 3, 11, 5, 6, and 7 which are riveted thereto. AThe rear ends of the studs 4e, 5, 6, and 7 are covered by the rear stay 2, which thus affords'a guard or protection to prevent the 75 studs penetrating the material of the pocket.

The only one which is not protected is the head of the one at the top; but the stays at this point do not exert great pressure upon the wearer, and, in fact, do notusually contact therewith at all. The left-hand member, similarly to the right hand, is composed of two parts-the longfront stay 8 and the shorter rear stay 9-connected by the rivet Z1 at a point about midway between the two upper clasps and very close to the Vupper end' of the rear stay. These stays are similar in construction to the right-hand stays and corrugated at the lower end. 'Ihey are provided with loop or eye members 10, 11, 12, 13, and 14 corresponding to-the studs. The two members may be distinguished most conveniently from one another by these terms stud member and eye member. The rear steel 9 eX- tends to the bottom and guards and protects 95 the rivets which fasten the eyes to the front steel 8.

A stud and corresponding eye-clasp is preferably provided close to the lower ends of the stays, where the greatest strain is brought y I to bear. I also provide another stud and corresponding eye-clasp a short distance above the lower clasp, so as to prevent the stays from spreading at this point. The pockets in which the'J stays are mounted hold the front and rear portions of each stay securely together and yet leave them free to move longitudinally one upon the other, as is necessary when the stays are in use.

To sum up, the particular advantages o this construction for a straight-front corset are as follows: the great iieXibility of the tops of the stays caused by the use of a single steel at these points; the great strength of the stays at the central portion or waist-line due to the use of the duplex construction; the freedom of movement` elasticity` and durability at the waist-line d ue to the single-point rivet connections c the smooth back at the points of pressure due to the protection afforded by the rear steels secured only at the top; the smooth front due to the absence of any joint there between the long and the short steels; the lateral resistance due to the arrangement of clasps near the bottom at the point of greatest strain, and the rigidity and resistance at the lower ends due to the duplex corrugated constructions. The value of these combined advantages will be appreciated by one ac quainted with the art.

What I claim isl. A pair of corset-stays comprising a stud member and an eye member of uniform width and a shorter reinforcing and guarding member also of uniform width secured to the rear of each of said members by rivets a and Z) between the clasps and some distance from the top, said reinforcing and guarding member extending to the lower ends of said stays and free therefrom and affording with them ribottom and free therefrom and affording a flexible top and rigid lower ends, a stud and an eye riveted to said members near the top, a stud and eye near the bottom, a third stud and eye located between the iirst two mem bers and another stud and eye a short distance above the lowest pair for affording lat* eral resistance particularly at the lower ends without interfering with elasticity at the waist-line, as shown and described.

3. A pair of corset-stays each stay being formed of a long steel and a shorter steel attached thereto at a point some distance from the top leaving a flexible top and elastic waistline each of said members being corrugated at the lower ends only, said corrugations coacting with one another to give rigidity and at the same time assist in preventing lateral displacements.

Signed at New York city this 12th day of April, 1904.

FRIEND RUSS.

Vlitnesses:

H. B. BnowNnLL, ETHEL L. LAWLER. 

